The Lakeville Father Who Abandoned His Son Was Sentenced

HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) _ A Lakeville father found guilty of child neglect for abandoning his son and leaving the state has been sentenced to two years of probation.

A Dakota County judge also ordered 60-year-old Steven Cross to pay about $2,500 in restitution for his extradition from California.

Cross left Minnesota last July when his house was lost in foreclosure. He left behind letters telling his 11-year-old son, Sebastian, to go to a neighbor's house and asking the family to become his son's guardian. Sebastian later moved in with a great-aunt.

An impact statement was read in court Wednesday in which Sebastian explained that he felt horrible when his dad left and thought his life was over.

The Star Tribune says a judge ordered that Sebastian be placed with his mother. Therapists will recommend when Cross can visit his son.